Category: Hobbies

Want to know how to inherit the earth? First, I’ll tell you what happened to me today. After that, I’ll explain.

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Today I learned that bird-watching is a good test of one’s patience. Your eye has to be skilled, watching and waiting for the bird to appear. My family got a hummingbird feeder for our backyard, filled with bright-red, citric hummingbird food, and it hangs outside on the white arch. From the window, you can watch for the little bird. It comes every 15-20 minutes on the clock. When it comes it is sudden: the hummingbird in a flash appears and feeds for 10 seconds or less, zooming off, and then you’re stuck waiting for it to come again. (Taking a picture is even harder than waiting.)

I’ve seen videos where others have the perfect spot for hummingbirds, bringing large enough numbers so that the buzzing noise their wings make, collectively, is loud enough to be heard even at a distance. Maybe someday my feeder will do that, too, but as of today, I saw only two hummingbirds come at the same time and one ran the other away – that little green one was possessive of her food saying (I can imagine) “It’s mine! Go away,” dive-bombing at the other one, making him leave.

It’s odd, yet amazing, how animals act as the defenders of their good green earth. There’s this narrative society declares, about how peaceful nature would be if only humans would stop their wars, and although I understand, it makes me surprised when I see animals angry or possessive, bickering at one other about what they think is theirs. My Dad saw the birds fighting and said, “They should know, it’s not private property! The feeder belongs to everyone.” Ha! Absurd to think the human is telling the birds to be nice, considering I favor that popular nature narrative I told you about.

Hummingbird and feeder

Enjoying a snack

Attempting to land

Taking a sip

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I continually ask myself, what is meekness and what is meek? Even a person who is said to be sweet, gentle at heart, or a humble person can find him or herself thinking, “I’m meeker than my Christian brother” and comparing their blessings, or comparing their lives to see which is more blessed. In reality, in the moment a person revels in his own meekness, is the moment of weakness instead of meekness.

Let’s repeat that thought:
In the moment a person revels over his meekness is a moment of weakness, not meekness.

No matter who you are, becoming meek needs discipline. That’s why God tells parents to discipline children, wives to submit to husbands and citizens to obey governmental authorities. If a person is not disciplined, meekness is only but a concept, and not a precept.

Without discipline, meekness is a concept not a precept.

Once a person becomes an adult, becoming meek needs self-control. You have to control yourself to be a meek adult. That means controlling what your body does, controlling what your mind thinks, and controlling what your mouth says. Like reins direct a horse’s will and body strength, self-control directs a person’s body and makes a temple for the Holy Spirit.

Self-control allows the Holy Spirit to take the reins.

Listed below are four ways you can be meek:

1. Live Confidently Knowing God’s Power.

Job 1:21When Job heard that all his servants, his livestock, and his children died disastrously all the same day, he glorified God with these words: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Luke 1:38Mary asked the angel how she was pregnant since she hadn’t been with a man, and he told her with God nothing is impossible. She said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” Her willingness is an example on how to receive God’s power over our lives.

2. Live Obediently Submitting to God’s Authority.

Luke 22:42 “Not my will, but Yours, be done.” Jesus prayed in the garden with his friends nearby, relinquishing his will obediently to God, knowing his fate would always be to die on the cross for the sins of humanity, but he prayed with the desire for God to change His mind, anyway. He gave up his will for his Father’s.

Acts 8:3, 9:1, 9:6 Saul threatened, imprisoned, and punished Christians fervently up until the day he saw the light (literally) in which he asked Jesus, who appeared to him in the light, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Instantly, he was meek enough to know all he did was wrong and Jesus truly was the Messiah.

Jeremiah 18:1-11 God, the Potter, and mere mortals, the clay: the Lord said, “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel! … Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” He spoke to His people Israel. Presently, God is calling us to submit to Him in Christ Jesus for the salvation of our souls.

3. Live Unselfishly Taking God’s Direction.

James 1: 21 “…lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word…” The man who endures in good even when evil tempts, tries to love the lowliest of persons, and gives up personal pride is living by “the implanted word”.

Psalm 25:4-5 A prayer from our mentor David, asking for God’s guidance: “Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.” That’s how we should talk to God.

4. Live Honestly Keeping the Peace.

1 Peter 3: 15-16“… sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.”

Ephesians 4:2-3 “…walk…with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” I think the way to do that is to not think too highly of myself, and listen sooner than I speak.

Application of “Inherit the Earth”
The Jews in Jesus’s time were aware of his meaning when he said, “the meek will inherit the earth”. Like our popular idioms nowadays (i.e. “Hit the nail on the head” means exactly on point, you can picture a nail being hit by a hammer), the Jews knew to imagine great fortune and blessings when he said the phrase “inherit the earth”. Psalm 37:28-29 says, which the Jews also lived by, “For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.” The Promised Land was a gracious gift to Israel from God, with the promise it would be theirs forever, as long as they obeyed God. Therefore in the Hebrew culture, it was common knowledge that God blessed those He loved with an inheritance of land and people, so Jesus Christ could say to his listeners this concept and immediately they would gain encouragement. When Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”, his listeners understood that he was comforting the common folk and lowly people of the land, and the ones who served God without trying to possess or gain anything in return.

In conclusion… Here’s how I sum up Creation vs Creator after today:

NATURE: It’s a dog eat dog world. (I learned that from hummingbirds.)

HUMANS: Bombers and missiles and nukes, oh my! (I learned that from news about North Korea.)

GOD: There are many rooms in my house. I am preparing a place for you. My Son Jesus will come back and take you there when it’s time. (I learned that from the Bible.)

Like this:

Mere rocks lose their way in the darkness, pulling into the atmosphere of Earth, leaving tails of fire behind their trails, but are meteors mere? Some don’t call them falling stars — they say, “They’re really not stars at all,” but then, some people don’t call sea stars by the name starfish, and yet the word is still a word, because habits die hard. Why?

It’s because we see what we see. Falling stars are stars like dreamers dream. Perseus never stops his battling Medusa, and Draco never fossilizes with the rest of the Dragon Age. It’s because we all want to see the immortal heroes. As well, wishes continue to come true because falling stars make them true. No one can change the magic, the magnificent.

In fact, dare anyone try and take away what the imagination sees, they’ll find themselves learning, that only the day Perseus lays down his sword and quits the fighting, will stars be a mere mathematical line of lights and nothing more.

The meteor shower yesterday had many kinds of falling stars. Each one is like a message in a bottle from God to you: your wish is linked to a falling star, and in turn, links to the ether endlessly, making your wish become a reality in the future. Each star has a different tone.

1. Sky Traveler

2. Power Ball

3. Twinkly Arch

4. Fast Streak

5. Trick of the Eye

6. Child Star

7. Blazing Fireball

“Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.If I take the wings of the morning,And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;Even there shall thy hand lead me,And thy right hand shall hold me.If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me,And the light about me shall be night;Even the darkness hideth not from thee,But the night shineth as the day:The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”

Like this:

It was a club with two members: my best friend and me. Our tools of trade were an empty peanut butter jar, a pencil, and a small notepad. We would catch butterflies, keep them as pets, and learn what they ate and how they lived. This was before the convenience of the Internet, if anyone can actually imagine a time without it. We had to do the research the hard way: in the field of study.

70’s Day at school; I dressed as a flower girl.

I was proud when our teacher cut windows out of a box and put plastic wrap over it so that we could even keep the butterflies that we caught. Then the class could observe them too.

When my friend moved, I continued the club by myself. I didn’t research the butterflies so much. I had a new mission: to train the butterflies to sit on my hand. During recess, I would step quietly and slowly to catch the butterfly in my empty peanut butter jar. Then, when the butterfly settled down, I would slowly open the lid and put my hand in. Once in a while I would manage to stay still and calm enough for it to happen; to my friends, I became the girl who could get a butterfly to sit on her hand.

But I wasn’t one to bask in the glory; there was more to do and explore. There was a different type of insect that had caught my eye… one that I learned was called a damselfly. At first I thought it was a lady for the dragonfly, but since then I’ve discovered that –although very similar- they are two very different types of insect.

Since then, I’ve had a soft spot for damselflies when I see them. I never had one sit on my hand, but recently I was thrilled to get a shot with my camera.

Like this:

I received an Omax MD8210 for my birthday last week: a digital compound binocular LED microscope. I had a microscope on my wish list, but I expected for the good models to typically fall into the price range of $1,800 to $3,000, so I didn’t expect for such an expensive birthday gift. This particular model is very cheap, but it’s very high powered and works wonderfully. It took me a day or two to learn how to use it, because it’s got 5 different little knobs to focus with and it’s got a wet lens that needs immersion oil. Considering I didn’t receive a user manual for it, it was a bit of a challenge to figure it out, but I looked online and found the manual on manuallib.com (a library of user manuals).

Viewing microbiology: it’s like entering another dimension. Yesterday Lacy and I went outside, and we were looking for specimen to view under the microscope. For the first time, she was thinking very small. She saw a spider on its web; it was just a little bigger than the tip of a ballpoint pen. “What are you going to catch, little guy?” She asked it. “You’re tinier than anything else that would get stuck in your web. Are you going to eat something three times your size?” Only later did we discover just how many tiny bugs that were smaller than the spider that set it’s trap on the cactus, waiting for its prey to fall into it’s web. (Of course, that’s not taking away from the fact that the spider’s web really could ensnare something three times the spider’s size.)

Sunflower pollen. Magnitude: x100

Rose of Sharon pollen sitting on a petal. Magnitude: X10

Little spider that was caught alongside a flower. Magnitude: x10

Sunflower petal. Magnitude: x4

Sunflower petal. Magnitude: x10

Sunflower petal. Magnitude: x40

Sunflower pollen. Magnitude: x4

Sunflower pollen. Magnitude: x10

Sunflower pollen. Magnitude: x40

Rose of Sharon petal. Magnitude: x4

Rose of Sharon petal. Magnitude: x10

Rose of Sharon petal. Magnitude: x40

A little green bug which was on the Rose of Sharon when we collected a bud from the bush. Magnitude: x4

Like this:

Back when I was in high school, there was a guy from Mississippi who owned an online forum, cheshil.com. He was about 15 years old; with a mission to create a website for his high school, a place where everyone could come and feel accepted and loved no matter what.

I was the oddball homeschooler from Texas who got invited by my pen pal to join. Members chatted about topics ranging from books, religion, music, and video games. The atmosphere was kind of like Hogwarts… where everything was fun and imaginative and goofy.

I was a huge gamer: fan of Final Fantasy, Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, and anything JRPG. One day, owner Cheshil asked for people to write video game reviews, to make his forums not only a fun place, but a hub for research and recommendations. I agreed to write about my favorite video games, telling others what I did or didn’t like about the game, and what could have made it better.

My evaluations, as I called them, got positive feedback. The only problem some members had was they were too lengthy, being over 1000 words, but it felt great having others compliment me and tell me I helped them decide whether to buy a game or not.

Time passed… Everyone graduated and moved on, and the online forum was left behind, due to the grown-up world hitting us. We were all urged to come out of our shells and realize our potential, find out who we’d become and what career path we’d take. Amazingly, Cheshil is a doctor today with a Master’s, another one of the members live in Japan raising her family, yet another is an actor and production stage manager – the world is our stage!

I attest the wisdom: though success is in front of us and our lives are ready to conquer, we all still need to feel love and accepted, and that’s something that will never change.

Like this:

Bernie Sanders, the well-known American politician, said yesterday on his Facebook post, “Let me be clear. Climate change is real. It is caused by human activity…” Whether you believe him and the well-respected science that says our world is changing and it is the fault of technology and humanity, truth is, a climate still exists outside today, in most areas of the world, which we can enjoy. And can we, in good conscience, go too long a period without enjoying the nature God has made?

“For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense.” Romans 1:20 (AMP)

I’ve felt stressed lately and decided to do, what I call, a social media fast. No internet. No Facebook. Not for entertainment, not for research, zilch! Constantly I search online about historical events, culture, written articles, science, religion and more, and I love to keep up with the latest even in media, actors, and politics, but on the social media fast I don’t even allow myself to do that. “I am blessed to have a home library, I have a cabinet full of old movies and games, I have a backyard, I have a life outside the digital,” I told myself. I even have “faith in the unseen” to pray and ponder on.

I have to remind myself – I remind you, too – Your hopes, your dreams, those you love are not bound to the digital. God exists in the natural. Love exists in the natural. You just have to experience nature to know.

A few weeks ago, I think someone’s prayer for me was answered when I was in my backyard garden. I have been sad a lot – an undertone of sadness glooms my life, if I let it – but when I went outside and enjoyed the fresh cool air, the sunlight, and the greenery, my spirits were lifted. It was not an accidental lifting of the spirits. It was purposeful.

First, I went outside to read my daily Bible reading. It was possibly the most tragic story in the entire Old Testament (Judges 19). I cried and grew angry at the injustice of a woman’s death, and read about how the whole nation of Israel went to war over her murderers’ heinous crime, as they tried to right the wrong. It reminded me of what is happening today in our world, with such a corrupt view on what is “natural” and “acceptable” and “free”. That made me very sad, but then my dog Trig dug a hole to serve as his recliner behind me, which got my mind on my surroundings. The sun was warm but the air cool, which in my opinion, is the most relaxing weather.

That’s when I started noticing the trees rustling, and the lush green garden.

Patches of clover fill the grass, and who knew, bees pollinate even them?

Common buckeyes like to light on the vibrant, orange lantana bush and feed there. Kat had a camera, so she captured everything we saw.

But two truly magical moments stood out to me as an “answered prayer” or else God strictly loving me.

The first “hug” was when a baby caterpillar was on my shoulder. I was standing underneath an ash tree that’s about three or four times my height, with its branches looming all around me, hanging around my shoulders, when suddenly a little green worm dropped onto my shoulder unexpectedly. Mom was using her shovel and pulling a plant out of the ground when I told her what happened. “Hey, there’s a caterpillar on me,” I said to her, and at the same time she showed me the baby bug on her own shirt. “It’s a baby lightning bug.” It made me feel good to see the new life all around.

(Actually, I later found out it’s an ash sawfly larvae, before its head turns black. Looks like a caterpillar, doesn’t it? It is related to the birch sawfly larvae found in England.)

The second “hug” was more magical, more providential and less coincidental. Now I have a beautiful garden, but like I said, I hardly ever walk in it because I’m too digitally bound to my gadgets and computer, which is a habit I’m going to break after having found that enjoying nature is an anti-depressant, but that is beside the point. The reason why I know the Holy Spirit was with me during this incident is because a still peace inside showed me a cloud in the sky at just the right moment; I gazed heavenward and saw the only cloud in the sky move in front of the sun, shading it with an outline of pearl-white lining, and it sat still for at least 30 seconds, creating a grey atmosphere. Notice this moment, you’re being blessed. The peace lingered until I decided to go over to where Kat was taking pictures. We talked for a few moments as she captured more garden pictures. I almost forgot the feeling until the blessing came…

“What’s that flittering around the lantana?” Mom asked after we came back over to the door, about to go back in. We debated whether it was a hummingbird, because it flitted and darted the way the little bird does, in a fast-wing-motion. Mom realized, “I think it’s a hummingbird moth!” I have never seen one of those before! After doing the research (so much for not online researching; I had to go online to find out the species) I found that it is a white-lined sphinx moth, found in Central Texas, known as a desert moth, which only comes out in cool moist air, usually dusk, although it was 3:00 PM. It doesn’t like direct heat because the wings overheat easily. It needs to drink a lot of fluid to stay hydrated. Wow… Amazing! I am convinced the only reason we witnessed the beautiful moth was because of the cloud that rested in front of the sun for 30 seconds, which created the perfect climate for the moth to make its rounds. Maybe some could say, especially the older generation, “You need to get out more…” because it could be a common occurrence, but really it was not. Mom was as amazed as I am, and she enjoys the garden much more than I do. It was God and love.

So if you find yourself doubting God, or feel sad from life’s letdowns, take a little time in the natural world. The unnatural shall not cloud the natural; digital desires cannot remove spiritual needs. We will continue to yearn for more in life no matter how distracted multi-tasking has us. And we will continue to need nature in order to create a better argument against the demons that so often plague our mind.

In conclusion, climate change does not have to scare us, neither does the injustices of the world have to cause us despair, because God is not only loving but He is just and will guide everything, even the drifting clouds and the rebirth of spring.

Like this:

I was skeptical. “Join the movement”, everyone was saying. It was a nice thought, but its hard to find a dynamic Christian movie. I’ve seen many inspirational titles, including The Christmas Candle, Amazing Love, and A Horse for Summer. I love inspirational movies, but many are lacking… something more, to give it that extra “umph”, the appeal that it needs to really hit home.

There have been a few movies that I think have that extra something -the dynamic appeal- that it needs, including Faith Like Potatoes, The Ultimate Gift, Unconditional, War Room, and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.

So when my family decided to watch God’s Not Dead, I was skeptical. Would it have the extra quality to really start a movement, as it claimed? From first glance it had a few of my favorite actors playing in it: Kevin Sorbo and Dean Cain, as well as a guest appearance and performance by News Boys; so my curiosity was sparked.

The story was great, the acting was superb. I was impressed. I was sold when I heard that they were making a sequel, God’s Not Dead 2, especially when I heard that Melissa Joan Hart would be playing a part in it.

I loved Sabrina the Teenage Witch when I was a kid. Since then, of course, I’ve realized that it was Melissa along with Beth Broderick and Caroline Rhea that I actually enjoyed more than the story itself.

Anyway, I was eager to see Melissa again, and was very happy to see the return of some of my favorite characters played by Paul Kwo, Benjamin Oyango and Trisha LaFache.

I personally enjoyed the second movie more than the first. The courtroom theme appealed to me more than the college campus did, and the teacher being sued for “proselytizing in the classroom” seemed more believable to me than the teacher who resented God, although they’re both based on true stories.

I can’t wait until God’s Not Dead 3 is released, although I do realize it’ll be a long wait. IMDB doesn’t even show it in the pre-production stage yet. But that’s ok. I’ll eagerly wait to see how our favorite Reverend Dave gets out of the trouble that he’s in… I hope to see Paul Kwo and Benjamin Oyango playing alongside David A. R. White. I’m also curious to see who else they choose. Could it be someone who I’d like to see again? Alexa Vega perhaps? Maybe David Gallagher or Katie McGrath or Aaron Yoo? Abigail Breslin, or maybe even Jonathan Rhys-Davies?

…Probably not. But maybe. I’ll be looking forward to learning more about God’s Not Dead 3. I don’t know if it’s started a movement or not, but I’m hooked.

As Psalms 24 asks, who is the King of glory? The answer is Jesus our Lord! As Christians, we are not free to live the way we decide is best; instead, we are to submit to God’s reign and serve Him, the Loving One who cleansed us and gave us the power to enter God’s holy place, His temple and His mountain.

Like this:

I have a literal love-hate relationship with the television. As a kid I was a TV-junkie. After school, I’d watch anything, from Sesame Street to Mr. Rogers and especially Power Rangers (but NOT Goosebumps or Saved by the Bell). My older brother would record V.R. Troopers every morning before school and I’d watch it when I got home; in the evenings the family would watch Sliders, or Star Trek: Next Generation, or MacGuyver, or Earth 2. TGIF meant Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos with Bob Saget. Saturday mornings were for lounging on the couch and watching kid shows like Wishbone, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Little Mermaid, and my personal favorite, Reboot.

We moved to Germany at a time in my life when I was learning the true meaning of trusting God. When I heard that a mustard seed faith can move a mountain (my mom explained that it wasn’t literal, although it could be if God wanted it to be), I decided to try it out: I told the TV to “go jump in a lake!” It was a half-joke as I imagined the TV growing legs (like Mike the TV!) and running out to find the nearest lakeside to jump into, but I was serious, for a 13 year old. Needless to say, 2 years in Germany and only one American (news) channel to watch, I learned to do other things.

The family still loves TV, and a part of me wants to indulge in a good show; sometimes I do give in at suppertime. We’ve watched shows that I enjoy like Emily of New Moon, Chuck, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Body of Proof, and shows that I don’t care for like The 100, Lost, and Arrow. There’s a few shows that are actually good enough to add to my collection of DVDs…

MY TOP 5 SHOW SERIES

#5 Dr. Quinn

starring Jane Seymour and Joe Lando

I’ve always been a fan of Dr. Quinn. After re-watching it with my family, I decided: I love Jane Seymour as she plays the brilliant Medicine Woman from Colorado Springs. The show’s end was melancholy, as if some of the cast didn’t want the book to close on their story, so to speak, but it was a fitting end.

#4 Monk

starring Tony Shalhoub and Ted Levine

“Unless I’m wrong, which, you know, I’m not…” –Adrian Monk

There are some shows that are enjoyed because it’s bizarre and strange, and then there are others because of it’s relatability. For some reason Mr. Monk’s story has an uncanny resemblance to my life, or at least how I perceive my life to be. The series finale gave the show a perfect surprise ending which resolved all the issues that were introduced in earlier episodes.

“…I could be wrong now, but I don’t think so! ‘Cause there’s a jungle out there.” -(Monk’s theme song: It’s a Jungle Out There, Randy Newman)

#3 Primeval

starring Andrew Lee Potts, Hannah Spearritt and Ben Miller

Monk may be relatable, but Primeval is bizarre and strange. It started out quirky, hard to follow, and it didn’t compare to the other British dramas I had watched: Wild at Heart and Monarch of the Glen. But my little brother, fiercely into dinosaurs, was so excited about the family’s interest in the new sci-fi show that we gave into him and took a chance. I tried to decide whether I liked the show enough to keep watching, but as the characters grew and the story-line was revealed, I was intrigued; and when it ended, even though it ended with a definite cliff-hanger and lead in to another series (or season, as we Americans call it), it was the ending of the show that finally tipped me over the edge to make me realize just how much I liked it and was going to miss it. The cast that the show ended with was amazing; they told their story very well.

#2 Three Kingdoms RPG

starring Kenneth Ma, Raymond Lam, and Tavia Yeung

Lacy and I have recently (the past few years) gotten into Chinese history after playing Koei-Tecmo’s video game series Dynasty Warriors; we got hooked. Three Kingdoms RPG would probably be my #1 favorite TV show of all time, except the finale’s ending was unnecessarily bad. Next time we watch it, we’ll stop 30 minutes before the end. It’ll be perfect.

#1 BBC’s Merlin

This show has had a bad rep since the show’s end. Fans (and no doubt the cast) can feel the taboo that enshrouds the show’s legacy. But the truth is Merlin takes its place as my favorite show. The cast, script, and directing were magic. The storytelling was superb. But the show’s finale left fans feeling betrayed and hurt from tragedy. Personally, we had to wait for the ending to show on Netflix, so after reading the viewer comments online, how Christmas was ruined for many, I was pleasantly surprised when I enjoyed the show’s conclusion; the cast played it spectacularly.

Lacy does remind me: as she and I read spoilers and prepared ourselves for the worst of the worst (what we saw other fans expressing), we created our own conclusion; one that continued beyond the ending and resolved the Dragon’s final prophecy: “Though no man, no matter how great, can know his destiny, some lives have been foretold, Merlin. Arthur is not just a king. He is the once and future king. Take heart, for when Albion’s need is greatest, Arthur will rise again.” Maybe I’m biased, but our creativity helped me realize just how great Merlin continues to be, despite the silence of fans everywhere.

Like this:

I must be a music geek somewhere in my core, because no one else in their right mind would be inspired by the music term “arpeggio” to compose a melody. Do you know what an arpeggio is? Quite a common music term, it is the fancy word for a broken chord, which usually is 3 or 4 notes long, but may be longer, ascending or descending tones. It makes a lovely sound. Beethoven used the technique, Bach used it, and video game music composers are fond of it, too, as is anyone. Final Fantasy fans may recognize the song title “Kuja’s Theme” from Final Fantasy 9, that has a series of arpeggios playing in the left hand of the piano, or at least, I think they are arpeggios, otherwise, they’re just a series of shattered chords, like broken glass… ascending it begins: D, A, D, F; then it descends: D, Ab, D…etc.

So lately, I’ve been neglecting my music. I haven’t played music in a long time, years maybe, which is bad for any budding musician. I simply have not the time for everything. It’s like when you are hungry, and you have to choose between meals, but you’re famished and want to eat everything on the menu; how can I make a choice when creativity can go whichever direction, but not all at the same time? I’m an octopus who can only move one tentacle at a time, ha ha.

However, I had to get back to music. I’ve been told that if I don’t play my Roland workstation, it’ll grow worn and the circuitry goes bad. So I went to it, pulled off the old, white sheet covering and dusted it, switching the ON switch, watching the green and red squares light up. My eyes grew a bit misty with regret from neglecting my talent. Music and I are old friends, yet we have been through a lot of arguments and debates, what with all the self-criticism and failed attempts.

One of my hardest troubles of composition is the technical side of audio recording. Lately though, I’ve decided to deem it a hobby rather than a profession, something I do for fun. I will be a bit easier on myself from now on (Lord willing lol).

I want to share one of my songs with you:

It’s titled “Arpeggio Abduction”. When I composed it, I pictured a great composer playing music in the night, when suddenly, he is beamed up into a UFO of dancing green aliens. At the end of the song, he is returned to his piano bench, and his playing continues, but he is forever changed…